Members of Congress influential on aviation matters have asked an independent government watchdog to review whether the Federal Aviation Administration is making progress on meeting Congress’ mandate to develop a plan for managing the growth and integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace.
In 2010 an FAA official reported that unmanned aircraft used to patrol the US borders have an accident rate several times greater than manned aviation. In one incident in 2006, a pilotless Customs and Border Protection aircraft lost contact with the ground and glided for 14 minutes through 30 miles of open airspace in Arizona before crashing several hundred yards from a house.
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 spells out the next steps for transforming U.S. air traffic control to a satellite-based system and establishing other aviation priorities. The new law also calls on the FAA to develop a comprehensive plan for managing unmanned aircraft by 2015. The inspector general’s review, requested by the leaders of the Senate Commerce and the House Transportation committees, will assess that effort as well as related safety issues.
Click the link below to read the complete blog posted by Mike M. Ahlers on CNN’s Security Clearance blog…
Review to look at unmanned aircraft safety
Rich Hanson
AMA Government and Regulatory Affairs